Repel Umbrella Windproof Travel Umbrellas for Rain - Easy Auto Open Close, Durable & Compact Umbrella, Strong Fiberglass Frame, Waterproof Canopy - Backpack, Purse, Portable Umbrella for Travel

So glad we picked this one. It opens and closes very easily, and seems very durable. I wish it were just a little bigger, but the small size is also very convenient and easy to pack or carry.

Looking for a lightweight and small umbrella for travel, I bought the Amazon Basics, Repel, and Umenice for something even lighter. I decided to keep 2, and I chose the Umenice and Repel, in that order. But this also seemed an overall good umbrella so read on.I weighed them myself:Umenice 9ozAmazon 13ozRepel 14ozI measured the diameters myself:Umenice 38.5"Repel and Amazon 37.75"The Repel and Amazon are very similar, both auto open, both vented designs which theoretically makes them less likely to invert in strong gusts. The Umenice is quite different, due to its silver UV-resistant fabric, manual open, and unvented.While each was open, I shook each violently up and down as if wind gusts were attempting to invert the umbrellas. The Repel 9 rib design was noticeably stiffer/sturdier than the 8 rib Amazon. Surprisingly, the Umenice 8 rib design seemed much closer in sturdiness to the Repel than the Amazon, despite being 8 rib and unvented. Perhaps the different fabric on the Umenice played a part in this.The handles on the Repel and Amazon are larger and easier to hold on to than the Umenice, however, the handles on the Repel and Amazon also have a considerable amount of 'play' between the umbrella shaft and the handle, meaning they will twist and turn noticeably in wind gusts, which is something I found mildly annoying with my last umbrella. I think this may be an unfortunate side effect of all auto open umbrellas.Another slight difference is the storage sleeve is a tight fit over the Amazon while the Repel and Umenice slide in more easily. When I bought, the Repel and Umenice we're both about $30, while the Amazon was $17. I was going to buy a Repel umbrella with a design on it to help it stand out, but I read that's accomplished with another layer of fabric and I wanted umbrellas as light as possible. The Repel advertises a lifetime warranty.I chose the Umenice first because it is noticeably lighter and smaller for travel than either of the other two, that's my most important quality in a travel umbrella, and I don't care much about auto open, particularly because that feature still requires two hands to fully close the umbrella. And in fact it seems to require 'loose' handles which to me makes a net negative. I do wish the Umenice had a slightly larger (yet still lightweight) handle which I think would add less than an ounce but make it easier to hold. I also wish it was vented, but it surprisingly held to my wind gust scenario seemingly nearly as well as the vented Repel, and definitely better than the vented Amazon. Finally I don't love the silver UV fabric on the Umenice and wish they also offered a more traditional fabric, but in theory that's an additional benefit and it does seem to be a considerably more waterproof fabric than either of the other two (which are so thin you can see light through them). The lifetime warranty with the Repel is great in theory, however it's nearly twice the price of the very similar Amazon and personally I know from experience it will go missing (not covered under warranty of course) before I went through 2 Amazon umbrellas so I don't consider that of particular benefit. It being sturdier and 9 rib is, so I'm going to keep the Repel as an extra, and for long-term comparison to the Umenice.

It’s a very sturdy travel umbrella: it folds to be quite compact, and opens and closes with a button press. One caveat is that the shaft of the umbrella remains deployed and has to be compressed to open the umbrella again, and this compression is really a lot of work. The spring inside the shaft will hold up a 15 pound dumbbell! It can make my hands sore.

Very sturdy and well built, seamless open and close. i amvery haapt with it and def can and do recommend it for strong umbrella purchase.Great for New England weather! :D

Strong, easy to open, takes a good strong push from the top to retract - the sign of a good spring. Strong material between the ribs; so far, the ribs seem stronger than any other I've tried.

Sturdy, ease to use and carry around - fits ok in my different purses. It's value for money, just get one before the rains are back.

Looks perfect made perfect works perfect. Strong and fortified against any wind, not one drop of water on me.

The umbrella's work well and do a good job with coverage overall. My kids are able to use them and close them without much effort. I had an issue with one of them after about 6 months where it wouldn't fully open or close on its own. After submitting an email with pictures and description of the issue the vendor replied to me by the next day and had shipped a new one out free of charge. Repel has excellent customer service and they definitely stood by their lifetime warrant. Great job Repel.